Castleford 26 Warrington 42: Defence let us down admits Castleford boss Powell

Tigers led three times and were 18-16 in front at half-time, but conceded 20 points without reply during a devastating 12-minute spell early in the second period.

“We were okay for half a game,” was Powell’s assessment.

“There was a period in the second half when they blew us away.

“There were defensive lapses that have haunted us too much this season and they went straight through the play-the-ball area.

“That is a poor area and vulnerable area to concede. You have got to be good to stop it happening, especially against Warrington.

“We did a good job for 40 minutes, but not good enough when it gets really tough. That’s where we have got to improve.”

Powell was happy with the way his team played in the first half, but felt errors after the break put them under unnecessary pressure.

He said: “To be in front at half time was a great effort and we need to go on with it, but if you are dropping the ball in the first tackle it is going to cause you problems.”

A key moment in the game came soon after the interval when referee Chris Kendall ruled out a Frankie Mariano touchdown because of an alleged obstruction.

Powell described that as a “tough call”, but he said: “On the back of that, that’s where we dropped off and for a period we were really poor defensively.

“I thought we looked okay at times and our attacking play was good. We isolated them where we thought we could isolate them and got points on the back of that, but you can’t have to score 40-odd points to beat a team like them. It’s very difficult to do.”

Powell admitted his team’s lengthy injury list also had a bearing.

He added: “You look at the two respective teams, out of the one-13 we had seven missing and they had one-13 out there.”

Powell felt recent signing Rangi Chase “went okay” in his first game for Tigers since 2013, but admitted injuries to Grant Millington (head) and Luke Dorn (calf) are a concern ahead of Sunday’s derby at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.